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Our Team

A Look At Who Makes It All Happen

Our Team

A Look At Who Makes It All Happen

Our Team

A Look At Who Makes It All Happen

Our Team

A Look At Who Makes It All Happen

Our Team

A Look At Who Makes It All Happen

Meet Dan Kerrigan Meet Brendan Joy

Operating Partner

Hospitality Is:

Making people feel comfortable being themselves.

Vision for Steel & Rye:

Food and drink are important, but I really want our space to be fun for guests.

What Makes You Tick:

The endless ways that Steel & Rye could grow; I always want to see it improve.

Drink of Choice on a Good Day:

Rye Manhattan.

Drink of Choice on a Rough day:

Gin Martini with olives.

Favorite Thing on the Menu:

Marinated Hen of the Woods mushrooms with our house white toast

Most Vivid Steel & Rye Memory:

The first time I walked into the space. It was a vacant garage with 30-foot ceilings and 100-foot stretches of windows. I couldn’t believe someone hadn’t made it a restaurant.

Favorite Design Component:

What we didn’t do. We left so much alone; this building has so much character and I’m proud of the fact that we didn’t make it too pretty.

The Thing You Appreciate Most in Other Restaurants:

Friendliness.

Last Meal on Earth:

Anything my wife makes. She’s an incredible cook.

Tell Us Some Things We Don't Know About You:

As much as I love food, I can’t cook. And, for as far back as I can remember, I always knew I would own my own business.

Executive Chef

Brendan has a passion for food and cooking that has inspired him to seek out the best kitchens in the country over the past 10 years. He attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY where he graduated with honors. From there he moved to Boston and spent the next five years working under the tutelage of many talented chefs at Radius, Clio and Aujourd’hui.

Brendan left Boston to spend some time as a stage at Tom Aikens in London. He returned home to Boston with a fresh perspective, ready for new challenges. He earned the Sous Chef position at No 9. Park and was subsequently offered an opportunity to help oversee Barbara Lynch’s newest ventures in the kitchens of Sportello and Drink in the Fort Point neighborhood. It was here that Brendan’s love for pasta making was brought to life.

Setting his sights on growth, Brendan was thrilled when an opportunity at Toro arose. He jumped at the chance to work for Jamie Bissonette and Ken Oringer again. He was soon asked to join the brand new team at Coppa as Sous Chef. Here, Brendan honed his craft for making great handmade pastas and learned whole animal butchery and charcuterie production.

Brendan’s interest in pasta making continued to grow. Presented with an opportunity to work in NYC for Michelin-starred Chef Jonathan Benno at his first venture, Lincoln, Brendan jumped at the chance. From New York, Brendan’s journey continued West to San Francisco. Here he worked as Sous Chef for Michelin-starred SPQR under the guidance of Chef Matthew Accarino. He developed further technique and precision for pasta, managed a successful team of cooks, and enjoyed working with the bountiful produce of California.

Upon returning to Boston, Brendan wanted to find the best produce possible, often foraging or growing himself. He found that Chef Jason Bond had the same amount of respect for nature and its ingredients. Brendan took the helm at Bondir in Cambridge, where he stayed for two years as Chef de Cuisine.

In 2016 Brendan joined the team at Steel & Rye as Executive Chef. He and his wife Cassidy purchased a home in the town of Milton where they are raising their family. He calls upon his years of cooking, apprenticing, and managing to share his knowledge with the Steel & Rye team.

Our kitchen aims to source the best ingredients and produce food we’re extremely proud of in an environmentally conscious way.